My 2-cents on Biden’s prostate cancer
No, I’m not a doctor, much less an oncologist. But I happen to have a more-than-average amount of information about prostate cancer, due to the fact that I know – and am even close to – quite a few men with it. And by “close to” I mean that I even know many details about their diagnoses and subsequent medical treatment. Much of this information is also very current, one person having been diagnosed extremely recently and in Biden’s age category.
I used to think that prostate cancer in the elderly was almost never aggressive, and that if left untreated almost all those men will die of something else. However, as you can see from this article, aggressive prostate cancer is far from rare in elderly men, although their prognosis without treatment is less clear as to the time frame:
Brassell and colleagues reported on the clinicopathologic features and the survival outcomes in 12,081 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1989 and 2009, from the Prostate Disease Research database. …
Men aged 70 years (n = 3350, 30.2%), had a significantly higher clinical stage and biopsy Gleason grade. Older men also had higher prediagnosis PSAV (P <.0001), which has previously been shown to be a marker for more aggressive prostate cancer. Among patients aged 70 years, 49.4% had external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), 24.6% had RP, 18.7% received primary hormonal therapy, 6% had brachytherapy, and 1.2% had cryotherapy. Among patients who underwent RP, pathologic stage, upgrading, and positive surgical margin rates were all significantly higher in older men.
That’s an article from 2013, and I’m sure there are plenty of others but I’m not about to spend hours and hours on this at the moment. I will add that the person I know who is about Biden’s age and who was recently diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer (Gleason 9, the same score as Biden) but without metastases, was told that without treatment the cancer would probably kill him before anything else just going by his type of cancer versus his average life expectancy at that age. Other doctors may have advised him differently, of course, but the one who did his biopsy was a very well-known and highly-respected prostate cancer expert who wasn’t gung-ho for treatment of the elderly with prostate cancer in general.
The men I know who have prostate cancer, including the one with the very recent diagnosis, all had had regular prostate screenings and yet several had small bone metastases when diagnosed, and their PSAs had only recently elevated. So I don’t have a problem with the idea that Biden was only diagnosed recently. It’s even possible that he had stopped having PSA screenings because of his advanced age; a lot of doctors no longer do them routinely in men of his age. I have read that Biden was diagnosed because of a physical exam in which a nodule was felt, and I don’t find that so strange. I’ve read that his metastases are treatable as well, and that was true for the several men I know who had small bone metastases at diagnosis.
I’ll add that the elderly person I know who was recently diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and is being treated had only had a very small PSA elevation and no nodules present that could be felt, and yet had fairly extensive although localized aggressive prostate cancer. The lack of metastasis was determined by PET scan, although it could not be ruled out at the cellular level. It was recommended that he take androgen-blocking injections and have localized radiation therapy.
Prostate cancer, even with bone metastases, is usually very treatable. From what I’ve read it’s likely Biden will have androgen-blocking drugs, plus possibly radiation. As I said, the person I know with a disease profile something like Biden’s is getting those treatments, although he was first diagnosed through a slightly elevated PSA rather than nodules that could be felt. These decisions are not cut-and-dried, and not all doctors would make the same recommendations.
The usual pathway to diagnosis goes like this: suspicion raised by elevated PSA or felt nodules, special MRI to determine the likelihood of cancer and if the likelihood is in the much higher range it is followed by a biopsy. The biopsy gives the diagnosis and the Gleason score, which helps determine a treatment plan. The MRI is a more recent development (a doctor told me that it became widely available for this purpose in 2017) that greatly facilitates the decision about whether or not to have a biopsy, particularly in elderly men. Therefore it prevents unnecessary biopsies compared to in the past, and makes it more likely that biopsies are only done in men who have a good chance of needing treatment. After the positive biopsy and Gleason score, there’s usually a PET-scan to determine if metastases are present.
So I have much less difficulty than most people in assuming that Biden really has been diagnosed only quite recently. Of course, there’s zero reason to trust anything that is said about his health, due to past experience with coverups of Biden’s state. But what we’re reading about his prostate cancer diagnosis could certainly be true; prostate cancer is an odd beast for many reasons.
NOTE: Here’s one of several posts I’ve previously written on prostate cancer.
Thanks for this, Neo. I also found, with a quick search, indications that a sudden diagnosis is possible. The sad fact is that, since the Biden administration lied about everything else, people are not inclined to believe this story.
I question the timing!
I know a bit about prostate cancer, I am going to turn 80 in a couple of weeks and I had prostate cancer in 2001 and a prostatectomy where the doc left enough of the outside to allow me to stiffen up from time to time loving on my wife. I was 56 years old when I had several points of elevation with the PSA test and my doc sent me to an excellent urologist who did my surgery a week after 9-11 and my recovery was good. I stayed dry for over 10 years and then as the years when by I had to use a pad and when I complained to my doc about that he said, “Shut up, you don’t have cancer, so there’s that.”
I injured my left kidney in a ski accident when I was 18 and it only performs 10% of its function, in the follow up on my prostate cancer my urologist discovered cancer in my right kidney right next to the blood supply in 2007. He did the surgery on my kidney cutting me open a bit to get the cancer with good margins and it was successful however it left some of my lateral muscles bulging out where the nerves had been cut. I kind of gripped about that and got the same response from my doc, “Shut up, you don’t have cancer.” We laughed a lot about that and discovered kidney cancer in the right kidney in 2011 during a follow up scan and that was corrected with a laparoscopy and here I am still going years later, kind of banged up a bit but in good shape. I do regular six month blood work check ups and annual scans with my urologist and about a month ago I was pleased to have all my work done, no PSA numbers at all and nothing growing down in the netherlands that we need to worry about.
I have helped some others working with a cancer support group at our church and after losing six friends to this cancer I had to step back and let other folks help guys along when they have this stuff and don’t catch it in time. I do recommend checkups as old men age along and if stuff pops up, work hard to find several opinions with good doctors and then jump in a get the best treatment you can.
A friend of mine four years ago was diagnosed with lots of cancer in several organs and he was told to get his affairs in order because he was a mess. When he told me that I said, I’m sorry but you might want to get several opinions and if you have a chance to beat this shit, just jump in and let your doctors do their best and now he is still around after a hard fight for most of a year. We used to be part of a veteran weekly coffee group, he is about my age and he flew ground support aircraft in Nam in the old days, he sent me a thank you text a month ago thanking me for advising him to try to fight the cancer.
Anyway, as far as Biden is concerned, I wish him the best in his battle and whether they just found out recently of they have known about his cancer for years it doesn’t matter anymore. He is a goofy, old man who talks to clouds and he is way past his sell by for anything but taking care of himself. So there’s that.
Related:
“Script Flipped: Shock Cancer Diagnosis Wipes Biden Autopen-Presidency From Headlines”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/script-flipped-shock-cancer-diagnosis-wipes-biden-autopen-presidency-headlines
…and especially this:
‘”…The Entire Profession Sold Out The Country To Act As The Democrats’ Damage Control Agency…”’—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/entire-profession-sold-out-country-act-democrats-damage-control-agency
+ (Trump-bashing) Bonus….
“Guess Who Democrats Blame For The Mexican Pirate Ship Smashing Into Brooklyn Bridge…”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/guess-who-democrats-blame-mexican-pirate-ship-smashing-brooklyn-bridge
“… He is a goofy, old man…”
You’re a far better man than I.
As far as I’m concerned, he’s been a major cog in the Democratic Party’s malicious and ongoing attempt to destroy individuals, cities, states, society and the country.
Yes, a malicious and ongoing policy of destruction.
OMMV.
OldTexan
You are much further along in your cancer journey than I am. But I take encouragement from your story. My first 6 month workup is in October and I hope for good results. I’m just hoping for 5 more years.
I’ve said it before, but M D Anderson has been fantastic for me and one reason we decided on Jax, was its presence as well as Mayo. My PCP told me last week in our catchup appointment, she thought MDA was a better option than Mayo. If you have to travel to get to an MDA, Sloan, etc, do it.
The thing of it is, we can’t believe a word from Biden or his people. They all have less than zero credibility on everything.
Following on to Cornhead….
I flat don’t believe they made the diagnosis a few days ago on Friday.
Maybe they’ve only known for a few months (which I doubt) or maybe they’ve known since 2020 or earlier.
But they didn’t just discover this a few days ago and — son of a gun! — right before the Tapper & Thompson book comes out.
This was as cynically timed as all those blanket pardons which the Biden team signed and released in the very last fifteen minutes of the Biden presidency.
I ran into one theory, forgotten where, that the plan was to drag Biden across the finishing line in 2024, have him announce the sudden discovery of his cancer then his resignation, thus avoiding messy discussions of his cognitive decline.
Kamala Harris becomes president and the cabal plays on.
OldTexan, what kind of scan? I have had Prostate Cancer, had Brekkie Therapy, radioactive seed implants. That was 9 yrs ago. Do annual PSA, it is about .45. I can’t have MRI because of the seeds.
I had a Gleason of 5.5 so had a biopsy, that’s when confirmed I had Cancer.
Seconding physicsguy on MDA. My mom had breast cancer, and her doctors in this state said she would have to have a double mastectomy. She went to MDA for a second opinion, and the doctors said a double mastectomy wasn’t needed: they could surgically remove the tiny amount of cancerous tissue and do radiation instead. My mom was quite glad she could keep both of her breasts, as you may imagine!
huxley:
They probably didn’t just “discover” the first signs a few days ago. But they certainly may have finished the diagnostic process a few days ago. It takes a while. First there’s the red flag – in Biden’s case, the nodule. Then there’s the MRI. Then there’s scheduling the biopsy and getting the results of the biopsy – the Gleason score. Then there’s the PET scan which looks at whether there are metastases. Then there is the overall plan for treatment. For normal people it takes quite a while – in the case of the person I know, many months. For Biden of course it can be expedited. But it still takes time.
It’s not clear when the nodule had been found, but the news of the nodule was announced around the time of the Tapper book. That was on May 13, but whether the rest of the tests had yet been performed, and if so when they had been performed, is not known. So it’s possible that he got a full diagnosis only a few days ago, or a few weeks ago, or a few months ago. I doubt it was earlier.
On the other hand, as with most elderly men, he probably had prostate cancer on the cellular level years ago. But I doubt he had any signs of it until at least fairly recently.
The nicest thing I can say about Biden is that he’s an incestuous serial pedophile.
From the “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” File…**
“2022. Don Lemon reports on an email sent in 2020 from Barack Obama to former White House physician Ronny Jackson.
“Biden was showing obvious signs of cognitive decline during his 2020 campaign and Jackson had posted about it. Obama was not happy.”—
https://instapundit.com/720599/
Mobsters all the way down….
** AKA the “Cement Shoes” File.
Scott Adams announced today that he has terminal prostate cancer
neo-
Biden said in 2022 he had a cancer.
Alan Colbo (8:07 pm) said: “The nicest thing I can say about Biden is that he’s . . . .”
I saw something somewhere earlier today going into how the left would react to a diagnosis of cancer discovered in Donald Trump. I think that most of us here have an awfully good idea of the reaction, such that we (and I) really don’t have to delve into a pungent description.
[Think: Hamas-niks and associated garbage reacting to the October 7, 2023 pogrom.]
Let’s keep it classy on our side; one of the two sides in the socio-political war ought to.
I’m saddened by the Scott Adams news.
I’m not surprised by the Biden revelation, and sad only in the sense that he’s still being used for gain by those around him. He’s never been a “good” man…and AFAIK, never been overly thoughtful or gracious to others. Sometimes you get justice in this life and the one to come. Sometimes just the latter.
I was listening to Dr. David Samadi – a fairly famous urologist – on Megyn Kelly this evening and he made an interesting point: The only way to determine whether prostate cancer is hormone sensitive is to administer hormone blockers and watch whether the PSA decreases over time. No way they could have gone from nodule discovery to this point in a few weeks or months.
CICERO:
He had several skin cancer removals. One was in 2023 but several prior to that as well, some before he became president.
Alan:
What that doctor said isn’t strictly true. It’s possible it’s the only CERTAIN way to tell if a cancer is hormone-sensitive, but there are other ways to see if it’s most likely hormone-sensitive and therefore whether hormone blockers are a good idea. Here’s a description of one such test.
A professor put it this way: “There are two types of men, those who have prostate cancer, and those who will have prostate cancer.” Such encouraging news, it was.
It would be my wager that his cancer was discovered and treated years ago and has recurred.
For once Brandon doesn’t have to conflate his difficulty with his other son, Beau.
My grandfather had prostrate cancer, though he died of pneumonia before it advanced too far. As I recall, the higher the test score, the faster and more aggressive the cancer is. The doctors don’t usually test for prostrate cancer until the patient starts showing symptoms, like urinating more frequently, etc.
Biden had a score of 9, which means this particular cancer is very fast and aggressive indeed. So it’s quite possible-probable even-that he was in the “all clear” stage four months ago, and then the doctors tested him when he started showing symptoms, and found the cancer,
A professor put it this way: “There are two types of men, those who have prostate cancer, and those who will have prostate cancer.” Such encouraging news, it was.
==
The median age of those diagnosed with prostate cancer is about 68. At this time, per PopulationPyramid, age cohorts among men between their 65th and 70th birthday currently average about 1.9 million in population. The American Cancer Society reports that there are currently 288,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed per year; (288,000 / 1,900,000) = 0.15. That’s somewhat short of 100%.
While everything Neo said is true and that it is entirely possible for someone to be diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer at baseline, I also agree with the others who say the timing of this announcement is way too convenient.
At the same time, if the Biden handlers really wanted to get back at the media and everyone who dumped on him, they should’ve said he was diagnosed during his time in office and had brain metastases, and that the media knew but refused to report on it. Serves the double purpose of making up a reason for his cognitive issues other than dementia and get back at those like Tapper who are trying to pin the cover up of his condition on the White House staff alone
@Chuck: “There are two types of men, those who have prostate cancer, and those who will have prostate cancer.” Such encouraging news, it was.
In the end we all have to die of something. I bet there’s much worse than prostate cancer to die of.
Via Zerohedge, Kit Knightly points out some facts of life in the newsworld, and raises the obvious question; most pundits have speculated that it is to draw attention away from the books by the faux-journalists excusing themselves for not noticing that Biden was senile from the get-go.
https://off-guardian.org/2025/05/19/what-joe-bidens-cancer-can-and-should-teach-us-about-the-media/
AesopFan,
With all due respect to Knightly, it really isn’t possible to cover up a President’s (or exPresident’s) serious illness for too long, especially not in this day and age. Yes, the WH press corps covered up the fact that FDR was in a wheelchair most of the time, but that was before there was a TV in every household. Yes, Nancy Reagan and Reagan’s aides covered up Reagan’s decline from Alzheimer’s disease, but that was before 24 hour cable news and the internet.
Remember the pandemic, when Trump came down with COVID and had to be hospitalized? He had more reason than anybody to say that COVID was hard to catch (and wasn’t serious if you did catch it), but it was impossible to ignore the WH trip to the ER.
It’s the same with Biden. He underwent the medical tests and the doctors found the cancer. Even if all his friends, family, and aides decided to keep it on the down low, they couldn’t keep the news media from reporting it: someone in the medical offices would have leaked it and it would still hit the headlines.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a President getting sick is just a President getting sick. Not everything is a conspiracy.